France to ban import of fruits treated with Tiacloprid pesticide

France Prime Minister Attal unveiled further measures to quell farmer unrest amid escalating tensions at home and in Europe.

Paris: France plans to ban import of fruits and vegetables treated with Thiacloprid pesticide, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Thursday.

"I have decided without delay to take a safeguard measure... to ban the import of fruits and vegetables treated with this pesticide," Attal told a press conference.

Attal added that France will write the principle of "food sovereignty" into law as he unveiled further measures to quell farmer unrest amid escalating tensions at home and in Europe.

Attal said that it was "out of the question" that France would accept to agree to the Mercosur trade deal with Latin American countries.

He also said France will step up safety checks on food imports, notably to make sure that imported foods do not have traces of pesticides that are banned in France or the European Union and said that France would stop going above and beyond EU regulation on pesticides.

"It makes no sense to ban pesticides in France before such decisions are taken on an EU level, we will end this practice he said.

Attal announced a first batch of measures to appease farmers last week - including a dropping a plan to phase out subsidies for agricultural diesel - but farmers' unions have rejected these as insufficient.